One Last Apology (Partners' Extra Chapter)
by Midorima Kazunari
Summary: Six months after moving to New York, Takao gets a late night call from his mother... (a companion piece to Partners)


"Moshi, moshi," I answered automatically when the phone that rang in the wee hours of the night. I turned over into the middle of the huge bed, and saw the bright blue light of the alarm clock telling me that it was 4:22. After six months in New York, I still wasn't used to sleeping alone while Shin-chan was traveling for a game, and I hoped it was him, even at this off time.

"Kazu, your father's dead," my mother said, without preamble.

"Mom? What? It's like 4 o'clock on the morning. Say that again?" I groaned.

"Your father is dead," she said with about as much emotion as if she had told me about the weather. She took a long drag off her cigarette. "He was driving drunk and slammed into another car last night. He drove both cars off the bridge. Both he, and the other driver, died on impact."

"I…"

"I expect you to call the Temple and make the funeral arrangements," she said.

"Mom, have you forgotten that I live in New York now and, frankly I hated him…,"

"I don't really care how you felt about him. You are his eldest child, the responsibility falls to you. Call me when it's all arranged," she said, and hung up.

I stared at the phone, wondering if somehow this was just a nightmare, but then the bleating sound of the phone disconnected on the other end proved that I was awake. I rolled over, dislodging Neko-chan from between my legs, and tried to go back to sleep.

After ten minutes of trying to force my eyes to stay closed, I got up and went down stairs. Neko-chan thought it was time to play and she followed, batting at my ankles.

I filled up her bowl so she would give me a little peace and then went to the office and woke up the computer. I checked Shin-chan's schedule first. He was in Atlanta, but would be home in a few hours and didn't have another game this week. Then I checked the airlines and with that in one tab, I sent an email to the temple in another and got a response about the wake and funeral rites within ten minutes. By that time, it was close to 4:45, and as I doubled-checked Shin-chan's travel arrangements, I saw that he should already be awake and on his way to the airport with the team.

"Kazu? What's wrong?" he asked, as he picked up the phone on the second ring.

"Shin-chan," I sighed. My stomach rumbled and I felt a little like throwing up.

"You wouldn't be awake at this time without a reason, Kazu. What's wrong?"

"No pleasantries, huh?"

"If I have to ask you a third time, I will be very displeased," Shin-chan's voice turned dark. I was treading on his last nerve and I wasn't sure why I just couldn't come out and say it.

"My mom called."

"Is Yukina alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine, I think. My father… he's dead."

"And?" Shin-chan asked, all the tension suddenly gone from his voice.

I laughed. Neko-chan peaked around the door, saw me sitting at the desk, and left again.

"Yeah, but I'm the eldest and she told me I had to make the funeral arrangements."

"That's because she's a lazy bitch," he said.

"Shin-chan!" I exclaimed in mock protest.

"Tell her no," he said. In the background I heard the boarding announcement. "I've got to get on the plane. Can we talk about this when I get home?"

"Sure, will you go back with me? Can you get a few days off this week?"

"Yes," he said, "that won't be a problem. Be warned, if I go, I will let her know exactly what I think about her demands."

"I'm counting on it."

* * *

When I heard the door across the hall open as Roxanne prepared to take Elizabeth to school, I dove outside to catch them.

**_"_****_Can I walk along with you this morning?"_**

"Ohayō Kazu-kun," Elizabeth squealed.

"Ohayō Elizabeth-chan," I returned her greeting.

**"Alright you two, speak English, this is America,"** Roxanne sighed. **"We're running late, so pick up the pace, boy-o."**

* * *

Once we dropped Elizabeth off at the school and were back on the subway, Roxanne turned to me with her hands on her hips.

**"You look like shit warmed over. What's wrong? Did you have a fight with your man?"**

**"No, no,"** I said, trying to laugh, but it came out weak and tired. **"My father died and I need some help."**

**"Oh, oh my, I'm so sorry,"** she cooed, and placed her hand on top of mine.

I sat back in the plastic seat and leaned my head against the dirty glass behind my head. The trains gentle rocking motion treatened to send me back to sleep, so I sat up straight and cleared my throat.

**"Don't be, he was an alcoholic that liked to use me as punching bag. He drove off a bridge - drunk - and killed a teenage girl in the process."** I had had all morning to scour the Tokyo newspapers and now that the facts were established and printed, I had no trouble finding all the horrible details.

**"Shit,"** she said. **"That sucks."**

**"Yeah, and my mom is a selfish, useless human being, so we're going back to Tokyo, hopefully tonight, tomorrow morning at the latest, so could you take care of Neko-chan while we're gone?"**

**"Of course, how long will you be away?" **She'd watched Neko-chan before, with Elizabeth's "help."

**"Buddhist rites include the wake one day and the funeral the next, then maybe a day to empty out his apartment if I'm feeling generous. No more than three days there and the travel on both sides."** The fuzzy speaker over my head announced something that sounded like our station. I staggered to my feet, Roxanne right behind me.

**"And your man's going with you?" **I followed her off the train, my eyes only open enough to put one tired foot in front of the other.

**"Yeah, he said it shouldn't be a problem since there are no games for the next two weeks."**

**"True, true. Ok, anything else you need? We'll pick up your mail if you leave us a key."**

**"Great, I hadn't thought of that. Also, I need to buy a cheap suit, I've never had a need for one."**

**"Ok, off to Macy's, let's go." **She pulled on my arm and got me moving in the direction of the correct platform for the next train.

* * *

"Now, Bat, we talked about this before ya left. The next time we were all supposed ta meet was in New York. I was lookin' forward to that," Imayoshi groused as I walked into the room the temple had set aside for the funeral. He gestured to Kasamatsu and Mitobe. "Luckily, I had an extra suit that Pacifist could borrow on such short notice."

I looked back and saw that Shin-chan had stopped to speak to the priest, and my mother and Yukina had not arrived yet.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, this wasn't exactly planned." I yawned, rubbing at back of my neck where all my stress had settled. My hawk eye was a curse as I tried not to look at the photo of my father on the altar at the end of the room.

Mitobe came over and threw his arms around me; I sagged into his embrace. Imayoshi rubbed my hair and Kasamatsu stood nearby, coughing nervously.

On the table that could have held thousands of floors, only two chrysanthemum bouquets stood guard on either side of the picture. The only one I could find of him last night had been the grainy black and white from the obituary; it was awful, but appropriate, and I hadn't bothered to try to hide that it had come from the newspaper that Yukina had saved for me. "Thanks for bringing the flowers, guys."

"There not our doing'. I do believe one is from the Akashi and the others from somebody named Furihata, if the names on the cards are correct," Imayoshi told me.

"Akashi?" I pulled reluctantly from Mitobe's arms to look at the flowers.

"I don't give a shit what you think, you horrible excuse for a mother," Shin-chan's angry, strident voice came from outside the open door.

"Oh, no," I groaned.

"When did you get a backbone?" I heard mom's voice.

"America changes you," he answered. "Why you thought Kazu needed to say prayers for a man who beat him – "

I sighed and stepped toward the sound of the argument.

Mitobe grabbed me and pulled me back against his chest.

"Chatterbox's right. Socialites doin' just fine on his own. Sometimes ya gotta let other people fight your battles."

"It's our duty – "

"Ha!" Shin-chan barked. "Duty? You sold your son to my family. For what? How much of that money's left? I can guarantee when you self-destruct, we won't be coming back for your funeral."

Kasamatsu stepped between me the door and me, blocking out the reply, but even his body couldn't shield me from the sharp report I heard as my mother's hand struck my husband.

"I need to…"

Shin-chan walked in that moment, her bright red hand print on his face. He stopped as he saw me, pushed his glasses up his nose, and said nothing about the heated mark or the way Mitobe was holding me back.

"Ah, the Point Guards. Thank you for coming," he said.

"Are we really here to offer prayers for a man that beat you, Bat?" Kasamatsu was the first to speak.

"Um, well," I said, and this time when I pulled away, Mitobe let me go to Shin-chan's side. He laced his fingers into mine, the tape rubbing in a gentle and comforting way. "Yeah, I guess, that's a good way to say it."

"I'm havin' trouble reconcilin' the bubbliest member of our fellowship with what I've heard today. How'd we miss that?"

"Because I'm a good liar," I admitted, "but to be fair, I moved in with the Midorima family soon after I joined the PGPPs. Things got better after that, a lot better." I smiled at Shin-chan and I thought I saw a tiny quirk to his lips.

Mitobe gave Shin-chan a quick nod.

"You're welcome," Shin-chan acknowledge in return.

"Do we even wanna know what he meant by that comment about selling ya meant?" Imayoshi took off his glass and cleaned them with the handkerchief in his breast pocket.

"My family gave her money to leave Kazu alone," Shin-chan supplied in my silence.

"Oh," Kasamatsu said. "That's really... nice."

"I didn't think I'd ever need ta have this kinda conversation on Bat's behalf, but I feel obligated ta say somethin', Socialite –"

"Am I to assume that's the nickname you've assigned to me?" Shin-chan asked coolly, even though he'd known the nickname for years.

"Don't play dumb. I'm bein' serious here. If you ever put your hands on Bat in a way that he does not appreciate, you'll have his three elder brother's ta answer ta," Imayoshi warned. Mitobe and Kasamatsu nodded their support. "In fact, I will have no hesitation about breakin' those lovely fingers of yours if such a thing comes ta be."

"If I ever harm Kazu, I will break my own fingers, all ten of them, I promise you this," Shin-chan swore.

"Ok, ok," I interrupted. "I'm done with the who will break who conversation. This whole horrible day is a little too much on its own. Ok?"

"Of course," Shin-chan answered. "The mourners will be here soon. We should show a united front as Kazu's family and friends."

* * *

Yukina arrived a few minutes later, looking lovely and older in her mourning clothes. She took a seat next to me in the front row, while Shin-chan stood nearby with his parents and his sister, Kaori.

"Who's the cute guy with the spiky hair and eyebrows?" Yukina asked, her hand in mine, my eyes were glued to the face of the man I couldn't pray for. There was no way my lips would form the obligatory words. I didn't want him to find mercy in the afterlife; I shouldn't be responsible for his soul.

"Which one?" I asked, turning to see who she was talking about. The distraction was a welcome one.

At the back of the room were a dozen former teammates from Shūtoku and the guys from the Sunday basketball game, including Kagami, Kiyoshi, Hyuga, and Izuki.

"That one," she insisted, pointing toward Kasamatsu.

"I'll introduce you later; he's very shy."

"Oh, shy, I like that," she smirked.

Kise darted in, wearing a hat and dark glasses until he cleared the door, then he shucked his disguise and made a beeline to where we sat. He pulled me to my feet and prepared to hug me.

"Takao, um, Midori… wait, what do we call you now?" he asked, stopped with arms spread wide in hesitation, like he needed an answer before he could finished the movement.

"Kazu," I mumbled. "That's what the Americans call me."

"Kazu," Kise gushed, as if the last few seconds hadn't happened and he threw his arms around me. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

"His death was no _loss_," Shin-chan muttered.

"Oh, well." Kise squeezed me for a second longer than stepped back. "I'm sorry you had to come all this way then."

"Um, thanks, I think."

"Murasakibara's here?" Kuroko asked, having suddenly appeared behind Kagami.

"Tatsuya!" Kagami's voice rang through the room, followed by a quick slap to the back of his head.

"Bakagami, you're at a funeral, not a basketball game," Aida-chan scolded. Her father snorted.

"I don't get it; why is everyone here?" I asked my beloved.

"Because unlike me, you are well-loved and respected." Shin-chan pushed his glasses up his nose; I laughed.

"You're responsible for this, aren't you?"

"I may have texted a few people…" His piercing green eyes caught something at the door and for a moment, our shared mirth was forgotten.

"Where's the family?" a female voice demanded in such a shrill tone that it quieted down the entire room.

I looked around for my mother and saw her slipping out the side door. I sighed and looked at my little sister. For her, and only for her, I stepped forward.

"How can I help you?"

"How dare you! How dare you say prayers for the monster that murdered my daughter!" she screamed, stunning the whole room into silence. I'd expected that she was someone my father had wronged, but…

"No one is praying for him." Shin-chan was suddenly at my side. "If he hadn't taken your daughter with him, we'd be celebrating the fact that he was dead."

The mother of the young girl that my father took with him into the afterlife glared at my husband.

I got on my knees, bowing with my head on the floor to the woman. Yukina joined me; Shin-chan came to one knee and put his hand on the small of my back. He did not bow his head.

"Nothing we can say will bring your daughter back; I hope you take solace in knowing that our father is burning in endless suffering for all the grief he wrought on earth," I said.

The room was quiet as I sat there, head on the hard wooden floors of the temple, Yukina fidgeting beside me.

"Tsk." There was more silence, then that was followed by her footsteps receding down the aisle.

"That's the last time I will ever apologize for that man," I promised.

* * *

A/N: Our beloved Kuroko no Basuke manga is going on hiatus in August! Oh, no, say it ain't so! So, in that vacuum, I'm planning on releasing the first chapters of the Partners/Priorities Sequel. Anyone who gives a quality review for any of the un-reviewed chapters of Partners will earn a prize! I will use your name (or the name of your choosing) in the sequel and dedicate a chapter to you. Questions? My private messenger box is always open.


End file.
